Artwork

Friday, May 27, 2011

This series of small trees was inspired by two things: A week-end of dancing the Five Rhythms Workshop which seemed to wash away the internal cobwebs and clear my perceptions so that I could see clearly again without the foggy blinders of beliefs and assumptions clouding my vision. I stepped back into the world refreshed and aware of the teeming life streaming around me in small and large gestures of movement. The second inspiration came when I walked through the park on the way to the studio to feel the century old maples dancing their forms back into life as spring surged through their magnificent textured bodies of bark and history. I could feel the trees celebrating the return of green and growth in swirls of energy throughout the park. Hence this series of 12" x 6" multi media paintings sprang forth from the interaction of my own body's energy and the tree's anchored yet flowing movement from deep within the earth. Many of these small tree works are still available if any one is interested in having a small swirl of energy for themselves. They are small but potent pieces vibrating with earthiness and sensuality.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

This painting has taken me on an inward journey of the imagination. I have played with the colors, texture, paint, forms endlessly changing and flowing into different solutions. I finally started to carve into the wood to create the lines on the tree trunks which added the final element that I was searching for. Allowing imagination to flow through the forest leaves and blow against the ancient rocks is a magnificent journey of heart and soul. Painting can be like a series of gateways that one explores and feels from within, always pushing up against the unknown, digging from the unconscious and allowing that which surfaces to become color, light, texture and form. Often what emerges is confusing, unclear, sometimes frightening. A huge amount of trust and energy is needed to continue and not quit or give up on the piece. I feel shifts happen within that are beyond verbal expression but a deep satisfied sigh is released when the painting looks back at me and declares that it is finished. My imagination has carried me to where I need to be in this moment and I will let it wander afresh through the hills and forests seeking new adventures.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

For the next three days our studio will be open to the public. Both Walt and I have been working away for the last couple of weeks. Our process is completely different so it is fascinating to work in the same space and bounce off of one another's ever fluctuating energies. Walt's huge graphite drawings are filled with a high energy charge that seems to fill the space when he is working. I have just returned from a Gabrielle Roth Five Rhythms Dance which unleashed all sorts of movement and colour from within. I have been dancing with the larger pieces and painted a whole series of "Dancing Trees" inspired by the century old maples and poplars in the St Henri neighbourhood that I live in. I love open studios as people enter into our workspace that is alive with imagination and creative energies, not all resolved but dancing through the air. The process is where all the work and play are for a painter so it is wonderful to be able to share that with friends and visitors...off to the studio!